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Mind Storm
| rarity = Rare | type = Unit Curse | combat_casting_cost = | research_cost = | effects = With no chance to Resist, the target unit is inflicted with the following ill effects: * '-5' Attack Strength * * Units with Illusions Immunity or Magic Immunity may not be targeted by this spell. }} Mind Storm is a Rare Unit Curse. For it may be cast on an enemy unit during combat. The target does not get to make a Resistance roll to avert this curse - it immediately receives '-5' to all of its Attack Strengths, and ! These penalties will continue to affect the unit until the end of the battle or until Mind Storm is dispelled. Units possessing the Illusions Immunity or Magic Immunity abilities may not be targeted by this spell. Effects Mind Storm can significantly reduce an enemy unit's combat potential across the board - both offensively and defensively - possibly rendering the unit entirely combat-incapable. It also makes the target more susceptible to additional Unit Curses and other ill effects. Attack Penalties While a unit is under the effect of Mind Storm, all of its non-spell Conventional Attack Strengths are reduced by 5. This includes both and / / Ranged Attack Strength, but also and , and even the (often hidden) Conventional component of Gaze Attacks. The only exceptions are the strengths of Immolation, spell-like abilities (e.g. Fireball Spell), and any actual spells castable by the unit. If the unit's Melee or Ranged Attack is reduced to a score of 0 or lower, that unit will no longer be able to use that attack at all. If is reduced to 0 or less, the unit will also be unable to Counter Attack against any opponent. In , these penalties are even more severe, as they affect each and every in the unit. For example, a unit containing will have actually lost up to -30 from its total Attack Strength! That equals points of potential per attack. Although Special Damage attacks are not directly affected by Mind Storm, they may still be disabled by it if the strength of the conventional attack they are affixed to is reduced to zero. This applies to all Touch Attacks, whether delivered in Melee or at range, and will even affect Gaze Attacks. For example, a Basilisk struck by this curse will no longer be able to use its Stoning Gaze at all, as this ability is triggered through a normally hidden Conventional Damage attack with a strength of . Even the Chaos Spawn's dreaded "Multi-Gaze" can be nullified with Mind Storm, although in this case, a nearby or active enchantment will effectively undo this effect, as the Doom Gaze has a base Attack Strength of . At any rate, the penalties or other attributes of the target's Special Attacks, if any, are not affected by Mind Storm in any other way. Defense Penalty The Mind Storm spell also reduces the target's Defense score by , meaning that whenever its are struck by a Conventional Damage attack, they will have 5 less dice to use on their Defense Rolls to try and block the "raw" . As a result, the unit will likely suffer more from any such attack, including direct-damage spells; although it should be noted that can never actually go below , so targets that had less than to begin with will be less impacted by this. On the other hand, since the penalty applies to every in a , they will have their defenses significantly more impaired against large amounts of that can chain to multiple . Resistance Penalty One of the most important effects of Mind Storm is a penalty of to the target's Resistance score. This makes the unit less capable of avoiding further Unit Curses or other maledictions inflicted during combat, including Stoning Damage, Poison Damage, and other similar attacks delivered by the caster's units. If a target's Resistance drops to or less as a result of this effect, it becomes unable to resist almost any ill-effects. Mind Storm's Resistance-reducing effect can also be used to bring a unit's Resistance score below . Any unit with or higher is immune to effects that do not inflict a Resistance penalty, so lowering Resistance below makes an otherwise immune unit vulnerable to such effects. Usage affected by Mind Storm.]] Mind Storm may only be cast during combat. It has a base Casting Cost of , and must always be targeted at an enemy unit that is not already under the effect of this curse. This spell can not be and will always take effect immediately. The curse will last until the end of the battle, until it is dispelled, or until the target unit is destroyed; whichever occurs first. While the spell is in effect, the cursed unit will have a series of flashing lights spiraling around it, as seen in the image to the right. Mind Storm may not be targeted at units possessing either the Illusions Immunity or Magic Immunity abilities. The game will refuse to target such units, asking the player to pick another target instead. Acquisition As a Rare Spell of the Realm, Mind Storm may become available to any Wizard who acquires at least Spellbooks. With any less, the spell can not be learned during the campaign. This is the minimum requirement for it to be traded for, appear in Treasure, or be found in the spoils of victory when conquering the Fortress of a rival Wizard who already knows it. The base chance for Mind Storm to be researchable (at some point) in the campaign is roughly 10% (with books), which gradually increases with the amount of Spellbooks possessed or found during gameplay. With or more, the spell is certain to show up sooner or later, unless acquired from another source. It has a Research Cost of , although its research is quicker for Wizards possessing the Sage Master, and/or Sorcery Mastery Retorts; or a bookshelf containing or more. Mind Storm may also be selected as a starting spell by players who allocate all of of their picks into books when creating their Wizard. In this case, it will be available for casting as soon as the game begins. In addition, Mind Storm is available as a Hero spell. It is known by Aerie the Illusionist, although it's worth noting that she can't actually cast it at her initial level. She needs to either become at least a (level 4), become a (level 3) if one of her Random Abilities is extra , or otherwise equip Magical Items to gain enough to use Mind Storm. Strategy When cast on a low-tier or even a mid-tier unit, Mind Storm can render that unit completely incapable of doing combat and/or defending itself in battle. Such units can then be destroyed very easily. However, Mind Storm is more often used to weaken very powerful units - especially because it ignores the target's Resistance score. Therefore, even the most Resistant enemy units can be afflicted with this Curse and weakened considerably. As an additional bonus, the penalty inflicted by Mind Storm makes such units susceptible to further Unit Curses or other combat maledictions, allowing a powerful Wizard to cast more spells upon them and weaken them further or eliminate them altogether. This is an exceptionally effective way of getting rid of very powerful Fantastic Units or high-level Champions! Category:Unit Curses Category:Sorcery